


Mutual

by itachiscatears



Series: Tumblr Prompts [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:34:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29491398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itachiscatears/pseuds/itachiscatears
Summary: Izuna had known everything he needed to know about Senju Itama and his brothers before they ever met. Except—
Relationships: Senju Hashirama/Uchiha Madara, Senju Itama/Uchiha Izuna
Series: Tumblr Prompts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2166189
Kudos: 13





	Mutual

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "Izuna/Itama, modern AU where they are introduced to each other because Hashirama and Madara are dating" for @al-stuffy on Tumblr. 
> 
> Set in England but the main characters are all originally from Japan. The Uchiha brothers' names are based on the [Mount Iizuna theory](https://fineillsignup.tumblr.com/post/182665874053/theory-about-madara-and-izunas-names). 
> 
> Written: January 2021.

Izuna had known everything he needed to know about Senju Itama and his brothers before they ever met.

The Internet is a terrible thing. Getting a trail on Tobirama and Kawarama had taken effort, but a single Google search of Itama’s name had delivered every social media account he could hope for, including a Facebook page that hasn’t been updated since 2013, an Instagram filled with selfies and surprisingly decent art, a Twitter with the soggiest takes he has ever read and a YouTube channel that is a mix of crafting tutorials and song covers.

(A cover of Sia’s _Elastic Heart_ is Itama’s most-viewed video at 577,890 hits. Izuna had contemplated the thumbnail but, in the end, decided not to click on it. He hadn’t wanted to accidentally laugh when they met.)

*

Izuna had known everything he needed to know about Senju Itama before they ever met—except for the tone of his unexpectedly low voice and the way his eyes light up when he smiles at Hashirama’s stupid jokes: something a camera could not, evidently, capture.

His chosen outfit is relatively neutral compared to the other monstrosities on his Instagram: sunflower-patterned bell-bottoms that he had probably sewn himself and a tan Burberry coat that definitely costs more than Izuna’s rent. His selfies had clearly been posed for deception: he is as tall as Hashirama in three-inch platforms, to Izuna’s immense irritation, and not nearly as slender as expected – though thankfully nothing compared to Hashirama’s bulk. 

It is, altogether, nothing short of horrifying.

Hashirama’s nerves express themselves in an inability to shut up, rambling on about how he hopes they all get along; it is hard to get a word in edgewise for several minutes as they stand outside the restaurant in two uneven groups, Hashirama connecting them.

Itama, unlike Tobirama and Kawarama who look as if they’ve been sucking particularly sour lemons, cuts to the chase when Hashirama rambles on too long. He sidles up to Izuna with an outstretched hand and says, “Hi, I’m Itama. I hope we get along. Are you the youngest too?”

His smile is polite rather than friendly. Izuna can feel a much slimmer approximation on his own face. An _I don’t trust you but Hashirama will cry and then Madara will start yelling so let’s play nice_ kind of smile.

“Izuna. I’m third.”

“Who’s the youngest?”

“Nagano.” Dark eyes wander past him and Izuna mutters, “He’s not here.”

Izuna had been the only one brave enough to show up, Kuro pathetically claiming he had a stomach ache and Nagano more convincingly hiding behind a university deadline. Togakushi, the bastard, is in Japan and had already met the Senju brothers via Skype.

He expects Itama to return to the protection of his older brothers, but he lingers with his hands in his pockets as they wait for a server to confirm if their table is ready.

“You look familiar. Are we mutuals or something?”

“Mutuals?” Izuna says blankly. _Shit, did he accidentally like something when he was gathering intel?_ “No.”

“Do you have an Instagram?”

“No.”

“That’s so weird.” He stares at Izuna rudely, head cocked. He waves a hand suddenly. “I mean, you look like Madara and all but I swear I’ve seen _you_ before. You’ve got a distinct mouth.”

His heart is pounding. Horrifying—this is _horrifying_. Thankfully they are lead to their table only a moment later and talking becomes difficult, Izuna seated next to Madara and Itama half-hidden by his brother on the other side of the table. They don’t speak again until he suddenly leans around Kawarama, pointing at him with his sandwich.

“Hey! Did we go to the same university?”

“No,” Izuna says unthinkingly.

“I haven’t said which one yet.” He swallows the food in his mouth with some difficulty and continues, “Did you take a Japanese class? With—uh, I don’t remember the professor’s name. Something with a J? G?”

Suspicion pings in his brain. He had seen mentions of Itama’s fine arts degree from a different university on one of his accounts. Had he started out somewhere else?

“We went to the same school?”

“Maybe! I would have been a few years behind you. I was only there for a year but I took an advanced Japanese class and I swear you’re the same guy from the professor’s screensaver. It was a class picture? Or something? It might have been a trip to Japan? I went on a trip with that class.”

Izuna stares at him, dumbfounded. “Yes… that was me.”

That picture—God, was that the one where they were all wearing the Mickey Mouse ears? He wants the floor to swallow him up.

“Wow! That’s so freaky! I have a sketch of you somewhere!”

The table quiets.

“What?” Hashirama asks, baffled.

Itama waves embarrassed hands. “It wasn’t just him! I used the photo as reference for timed sketches if I was early to class! It was kind of hard to miss, being up on the projector!”

“You’re the one getting defensive,” Kawarama says dryly, “but sure.”

The others laugh (apart from Tobirama who appears to still be nursing that lemon). Izuna is speechless. Itama gloomily stuffs the sandwich into his mouth and retreats behind Kawarama, not speaking to him again directly until they are ready to leave.

*

Izuna stares at his phone, finger hovering over the screen. Finally he clicks on the video.

The quality is a little fuzzy. Itama is hunched over an easel with a paintbrush in hand, talking nonsense to the camera in English. A livestream clip?

“Okay, I’m going to work on this corner for a bit. I’ll check comments when I’m done and we can chat more!”

He reaches over to his keyboard and turns up the background music. The tail-end of some popular song ends and another begins.

Shamelessly, as if he is not being recorded, Itama begins to sing along with increasing volume. It is as mortifying as Izuna had predicted: his voice is wobbly and clearly not suited to singing so high, but he doesn’t seem to notice. _At all._ He belts out the lyrics as he paints, pixelated face blank with concentration.

“—I’VE GOT AN ELASTIC HEART… yeah, I’ve got an elastic heart… and I will stay up through the night, yeah, le _T’S BE CLEAR I WON’T CLOSE MY EEYYEES—”_

Itama jumps suddenly, dropping his paintbrush. He picks it up and laughs. “Did you guys hear that? My brother’s shouting at me to shut the fuck up. Soooooorrry!”

Izuna unclenches his fingers from his mouth a few seconds after the video ends, dazed. He’s grinning: half in second-hand mortification, half in something he does _not_ want to examine.

He hopes they never have to meet again.


End file.
